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Article published In: Advances in the Study of Social Action in Online Interaction
Edited by Valeria Sinkeviciute
[Internet Pragmatics 7:1] 2024
► pp. 63–100

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“Resident superhero”

Community veneration on Facebook

 | RMIT University
Published online: 3 June 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ip.00112.mul
Abstract
Situated at the intersection of social media communication and pragmatics of language use online, this article will examine the social action of community veneration of a local plumber by members of a neighbourhood Facebook group, the vast majority of whom do not know each other personally (nor necessarily the plumber). Particular attention will be paid to the way in which this veneration is constructed over time through linguistic creativity and humour, such as limericks, exaggeration, and various terms of reverence and hero worship. In addition to these linguistic devices, it will be shown how the participants actively exploit the digital environment to create context-dependent humour through emojis, memes, and other graphics. The selected examples will illustrate how this collaborative veneration and playfulness also strengthen the sense of belonging in this group of online strangers.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical framework
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Data
    • 3.2Data analysis
  • 4.Examples and discussion
    • 4.1Responses with recommendations for RS (47 threads)
    • 4.2Spontaneous unsolicited recommendations for RS (44 threads)
    • 4.3Seeking recommendations (with explicit mentions of RS) (21 threads)
    • 4.4Mentions of RS in non-plumbing related threads (8 threads)
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (57)
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